VIENNA, Ohio (WKBN) – Companies across the county, from major airlines to those that handle charter flights, are looking for aviation maintenance technicians. There’s a shortage of these mechanics.

Boeing Technician Outlook estimated 192,000 of them will be needed between now and 2039. Because of this, a local school that specializes in training these mechanics says they’re seeing a high job placement because of it.

“It’s just amazing, the opportunities that have come to me,” said student Jared Kaiser.

Kaiser is a student at the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics. He’s a little more than a month away from graduating but already has job interviews set with two different aviation companies.

“These employers are here, they’re basically fighting over us. They want us to go work for them. We don’t have to compete to try to get a job from them, they’re competing to get us to go work for them,” Kaiser said.

“A lot of these students get to pick where they’re gonna work,” said PIA Youngstown campus director Joe Deramo.

Aviation maintenance technicians are in such high demand that some companies were conducting on-site interviews and offering jobs on the spot at a career fair the school hosted at the Youngstown Warren Regional Airport.

“The aviation industry, in general, is struggling to find technicians. There’s a shortage basically so it’s tough right now, not only for us, but for everyone else,” said Constant Aviation recruitment manager Nicole Richard.

So, companies are getting creative, offering generous sign-on bonuses and other incentives in addition to competitive wages.

“I couldn’t think of a better time to kinda get into the field,” said student Evan Griffiths.

Deramo says right now, their job placement rate after graduation is above 90 percent, but there aren’t enough students entering the field to meet the demand.

“You hear about flights possibly being canceled, part of it is due to an aviation maintenance technician shortage and we’re trying to fill that void,” Deramo said.